Mac Pro+MBA vs MacBook Pro

[Ed Miliband]

I am deciding on the computer

Maxed 15" rMBP + thunderbolt display

Base Mac Pro maybe upgrade D700 (+ thunderbolt display of course) + MacBook Air for portability computer needs

which is best for me ?

 

[joecool99]

noone can answer that for you, except you.
maxed out 15" MBP is almost as fast as base MP.
you know the rest.

 

[Ed Miliband]

noone can answer that for you, except you.
maxed out 15" MBP is almost as fast as base MP.
you know the rest.

thank you

do you know how much faster the nMP is, and same question if I buy D700 cards with it

I would prefer one computer for simplicity and thought the nMP+MBA would be an OK compromise for the extra power , but if the power is not much better this option seems a bit pointless

 

[TheIguana]

Hard to say without an idea of what you plan to use it for.

 

[SarcasticJoe]

There's not that many jobs where the Mac Pro, or a Xeon Workstation in general, is actually necessary. 4k video editing and professional 3D modeling and animation are some of the more common ones. So if you're doing one of these it might be worth it, but otherwise it's just overkill and you might as well just get yourself an iMac.

As for the talk about the highest end Macbook Pro being just as fast, it's simply not as fast. The CPU on the cheapest Mac Pro crushes the Macbooks' and just one of the two GPU's even in the baseline Mac Pro beats the one in the Macbook with a solid margin. The most probable reason for this misconception is that the top-of-the-range Macbook Pro comes with a 512 GB SSD, the baseline Mac Pro with a 256GB one, and with Apple higher capacity SSD's are faster. The 256GB SSD is a 2 lane PCIe drive while the 512GB model is a 4 lane PCIe one. Just upgrade from 256 to 512 is just a $300 optional extra whereafter the Mac Pro leaves the Macbook in the dust.

 

[MCAsan]

which is best for me ?

To achieve what? Use care? That is the goal? It is very hard to hit an unknown target.

If portability is not a firm requirement, a maxed our iMac will do most things very nicely.



A nod is as good as a wink to a blind horse.

 

[CASLondon]

The most probable reason for this misconception is that the top-of-the-range Macbook Pro comes with a 512 GB SSD, the baseline Mac Pro with a 256GB one, and with Apple higher capacity SSD's are faster. The 256GB SSD is a 2 lane PCIe drive while the 512GB model is a 4 lane PCIe one. Just upgrade from 256 to 512 is just a $300 optional extra whereafter the Mac Pro leaves the Macbook in the dust.

Slight derail here, but I'm trying to determine the pcie lanes for the various late 13 rMBP/MBA/MP options as I'm going to get the new adapter coming out of China that will let me stick a late 13 laptop Samsung Apple pcie drive in my 12-core Mac Pro.

My adapter is 4 lane. Clearly the 1TB samsung in the MP and rMBP is 4 lane. I have a 512g late 2013 rMBP, system profiler says its connected at 2 lanes. Is that the drive, or is that the connector in the laptop?

If I pull this drive for a 1TB, will it run at 4 lanes in another computer?

 

[Freyqq]

noone can answer that for you, except you.
maxed out 15" MBP is almost as fast as base MP.
you know the rest.

Surprisingly true, but just for CPU work. I'm sure those dual GPUs would crush the 750M.

I wouldn't recommend the thunderbolt display though. Too overpriced for what it is. You could get a 4k screen for that price.

 

[yjchua95]

There's not that many jobs where the Mac Pro, or a Xeon Workstation in general, is actually necessary. 4k video editing and professional 3D modeling and animation are some of the more common ones. So if you're doing one of these it might be worth it, but otherwise it's just overkill and you might as well just get yourself an iMac.

As for the talk about the highest end Macbook Pro being just as fast, it's simply not as fast. The CPU on the cheapest Mac Pro crushes the Macbooks' and just one of the two GPU's even in the baseline Mac Pro beats the one in the Macbook with a solid margin. The most probable reason for this misconception is that the top-of-the-range Macbook Pro comes with a 512 GB SSD, the baseline Mac Pro with a 256GB one, and with Apple higher capacity SSD's are faster. The 256GB SSD is a 2 lane PCIe drive while the 512GB model is a 4 lane PCIe one. Just upgrade from 256 to 512 is just a $300 optional extra whereafter the Mac Pro leaves the Macbook in the dust.

The 512GB in the rMBPs are all two lanes.

My 13" late-2013 rMBP with a 512GB clocks in at 720-750 MB/s, while my 15" late-2013 rMBP with a 4-lane 1TB clocks in at 1GB/s.